Injured Eye and No Growth of Feathers of Quail.. Help :(

[AnneSK]

Hello! I hope you're all well.
This is my first post here.

I need help.. As you can see in the pictures, my quail doesn't have feathers on his back and one of his eyes is swollen.. the other eye is just fine. It looks like an injury to me and I'm not sure what caused this. He's a Japanese quail and it's been about almost 2 years since I've had him, though nothing like this ever happened until now. I thought he lost feathers due to the fact that he's growing old but I don't think that's the case. What could be the treatment for this? I've read a lot of articles but still wasn't able to figure out what exactly is wrong with him. I'm a bit unfamiliar with this.. please help me

 

[Ebony Rose]

Japanese coturnix quail are considered OLD at 2 years of age.
I am assuming that an avian veterinarian is out of the question, or you wouldn't be asking what to do on these forums.
That said, I think he has a few things going on. I'm not an expert on quail by any means, but I've raised this type for several years (for meat and eggs). It looks like a horrible molt. He appears to still have good meat on the breast, leaving me to think he's still eating and drinking. Is that correct?
Although quail are exceptionally resistant to cocci, it's not unheard of for an elderly bird to succumb to the ill effects of this parasite, and the medicine is cheap and easy to find (amprolium in his water). It looks as if he may have been pecked in the eye, or scratched it on something or with his own claw. What does his poop look like? Color, lack of color, watery, chunky etc. Pictures of his poop may provide clues to those with experienced eyes.
If he were my pet quail, I'd take a wet warm cloth and press it up to his eye for several minutes to loosen and ultimately remove any goop that's sealing that shut, and afterward I'd apply neosporin / triple antibiotic ointment directly to the eye, the kind without pain relief in it that has the consistency of vaseline. I would stop feeding all treats unless they are exceptionally high in protein and amino acids to encourage feather regrowth. It takes a lot of protein and calories to grow all those feathers. I would add amprolium to all of his water sources (and if you have more than just this one bird, I'd go ahead and treat them all to this) as it will not harm them in any way but could save his life if he's suffering coccidiosis.

 

[AnneSK]

Japanese coturnix quail are considered OLD at 2 years of age.
I am assuming that an avian veterinarian is out of the question, or you wouldn't be asking what to do on these forums.
That said, I think he has a few things going on. I'm not an expert on quail by any means, but I've raised this type for several years (for meat and eggs). It looks like a horrible molt. He appears to still have good meat on the breast, leaving me to think he's still eating and drinking. Is that correct?
Although quail are exceptionally resistant to cocci, it's not unheard of for an elderly bird to succumb to the ill effects of this parasite, and the medicine is cheap and easy to find (amprolium in his water). It looks as if he may have been pecked in the eye, or scratched it on something or with his own claw. What does his poop look like? Color, lack of color, watery, chunky etc. Pictures of his poop may provide clues to those with experienced eyes.
If he were my pet quail, I'd take a wet warm cloth and press it up to his eye for several minutes to loosen and ultimately remove any goop that's sealing that shut, and afterward I'd apply neosporin / triple antibiotic ointment directly to the eye, the kind without pain relief in it that has the consistency of vaseline. I would stop feeding all treats unless they are exceptionally high in protein and amino acids to encourage feather regrowth. It takes a lot of protein and calories to grow all those feathers. I would add amprolium to all of his water sources (and if you have more than just this one bird, I'd go ahead and treat them all to this) as it will not harm them in any way but could save his life if he's suffering coccidiosis.

Yes, I would've taken him to a vet but unfortunately, that isn't possible. He does eat and drink.. He behaves normally. But he has been scratching his eye a lot lately. And his poop is slightly green and brown-ish. It's always been like that. I haven't seen any change so far.

Also thank you so much, I really appreciate it!

 

[ackie]

This forum has made me realize how adorable quail are. Best of luck.

 

[AnneSK]

This forum has made me realize how adorable quail are. Best of luck.

Oh yes, they're really cute! I got them unexpectedly, but I don't regret it and thank you!

 

[Ebony Rose]

Finding an avian veterinarian is challenging in the best of times and super expensive. Finding one during this pandemic, I'd venture to guess, is not only cost prohibitive but also nearly impossible. Ensure that he gets extra protein to help with those feathers. Even if you have to grind up dry cat food for him (no more than 10% of his diet) to give him the boost in nutrition needed to regrow his plumage.

 

[AnneSK]

Finding an avian veterinarian is challenging in the best of times and super expensive. Finding one during this pandemic, I'd venture to guess, is not only cost prohibitive but also nearly impossible. Ensure that he gets extra protein to help with those feathers. Even if you have to grind up dry cat food for him (no more than 10% of his diet) to give him the boost in nutrition needed to regrow his plumage.

Yes, will certainly do. Thank you again!